Today In History

Today is Friday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2013. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Nov. 15, 1942, the naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.

On this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

In 1889, Brazil was proclaimed a republic as its emperor, Dom Pedro II, was overthrown.

In 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established as its new president, Manuel L. Quezon, took office.

In 1937, the House and Senate chambers of the U.S. Capitol were air-conditioned for the first time.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.

In 1958, actor Tyrone Power, 44, died in Madrid, Spain, while filming “Solomon and Sheba.” (Power’s part was recast with Yul Brynner.)

In 1961, former Argentine President Juan Peron, living in exile in Spain, married his third wife, Isabel.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1979, the British government publicly identified Sir Anthony Blunt as the “fourth man” of a Soviet spy ring.

In 1982, funeral services were held in Moscow’s Red Square for the late Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev.

In 1985, Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.

In 1987, 28 of 82 people aboard a Continental Airlines DC-9, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed when the jetliner crashed seconds after taking off from Denver’s Stapleton International Airport.

In 2001, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their dispute over U.S. missile shield plans but pledged to fight terrorism and deepen U.S.-Russian ties as their summit, which began at the White House before shifting to Bush’s Texas ranch, came to a close.

Ten years ago: Two Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed in Iraq; 17 U.S. troops were killed. Two synagogues were bombed in Istanbul; 29 people were killed. A gangway on the cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 collapsed in St. Nazaire, France, killing 15 people. Democrat Kathleen Blanco was elected the first female governor of Louisiana, defeating Republican Bobby Jindal in a runoff. Billionaire Laurence Tisch, 80, and actress Dorothy Loudon, 70, died.

Five years ago: World leaders battling an economic crisis agreed in Washington to flag risky investing and regulatory weak spots in hopes of avoiding future financial meltdowns. A wildfire destroyed nearly 500 mobile homes in Los Angeles. Gay rights supporters marched in cities coast to coast to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California. Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil supertanker, in the Indian Ocean. (The ship was released eight weeks later after the pirates were reportedly paid a ransom.)

One year ago: The Justice Department announced that BP had agreed to plead guilty to a raft of charges in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill pay a record $4.5 billion, including nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines. The settlement came 2 1/2 years after the fiery drilling-rig explosion killed 11 workers and touched off the nation’s largest offshore oil spill. Four veterans were killed and 16 people injured when a train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded warriors and their spouses in Midland, Texas. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. San Francisco’s Buster Posey was the National League MVP.